How to Woo a Woman
After so many days of waking up early, this particular day I stayed in bed longer.
Pressed against his body, mine—sore and exhausted—was cradled in his arms. My hair was a mess, the sheets were a mess, our clothes scattered across the floor were a mess.
The room itself looked like the Katrina hurricane had just swept through it.
I felt Miles shifting behind me. He gently brushed my curls and pressed his lips against the back of my neck.
“Mmm, good morning,” I murmured, turning around to face the bright sun casting its warm rays on my face.
“Good morning,” he smiled, nibbling on my ear. “How did you sleep?”
“Um.” I let out a soft chuckle. “Well, let me think…after the workout you gave me last night…I think it’s fair to say…pretty amazing.”
Miles suddenly propped himself up on his elbow, leaning over me. “Then,” he grinned, “I’m glad I exhausted you in the best possible way.”
“Oh, and how glad am I,” I laughed, quickly catching his gaze landing on the raised skin of my scar.
Miles cradled my face, his thumb gently following along the line of my jaw. “Is that…?”
“Yeah,” I breathed.
“I’ve got one too.”
“You do?” I asked, surprised, wondering how I hadn’t even noticed it by now.
“But it’s barely noticeable,” he said, bending his leg at the knee. “Here.” He traced his hand on the inner side of it.
“How did you get it?” I asked, glancing at him and grazing my lips over his collarbone.
“Fell off a tree as a kid…when I was stealing pears from our neighbour.”
“Oh,” I let out a soft chuckle. “Sorry.”
“Nah, that’s alright. But, God, I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes,” Miles smiled. “I cried so much my gran thought I was reenacting a Shakespearean tragedy.”
“You didn’t!” I snorted a laugh.
“I swear. My tears flowed like a waterfall!”
I laughed again, then tilted my chin up to gently kiss him. “We should probably…” I whipped my head around the room. “Um…clean up?”
“No,” he said, rolling over on top of me. “I refuse to leave this bed. I refuse to let you go either.”
“Miles, it’s probably noon already.” It wasn’t. “People might be looking for us.” They weren’t.
“Look,” he said, reaching for his phone on the nightstand and crushing me with his weight. “It’s not even eleven. Besides,” he smirked, “I might just have enough strength left for us to, you know, start the day off right?”
“You are bad,” I murmured, “so very, very bad.”
“Or…” He bit the corner of his lip as his leg slid between mine, an assertive erection pressed against my thigh. “We could shower together?” My lower abdomen momentarily ached.
Miles moved in to take my nipple in his mouth when, suddenly, someone knocked at the door.
We both momentarily froze. Then I shuddered, realising I had left the lock unlatched. “Shit!”
“Miles, you there? It’s Blake. May I come in?”
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Miles muttered under his breath. “Indecent!” he called out. “Give me a second.”
Now, imagine me, wrapped in the sheet, running on tiptoes around the room, quickly picking up our clothes and pillows, and—shit—trying to find my underwear. “Dammit, where is it?”
Miles grabbed the first thing he saw in his wardrobe and frantically put it on.
“I’ll be in the bathroom,” I muttered, glancing at him. And well, see how the tables have turned.
“Okay.” He nodded at me. “I’ll try to make it fast.”
“Hey,” Miles mumbled.
“You got a minute?” Blake asked.
“Um, sure.”
The murmur of the voices shifted as Blake entered the room, the tones becoming clearer. “I need advice about a girl.”
Huh? I pressed myself closer to the door, listening.
“From me? ” Miles asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” Blake sighed. “I know, I’m most of the time pretty confident, just not in this case.”
Miles cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.
“There is someone I like,” Blake began, “a lot.”
Silence. Hmm .
“Well, you know her. It’s Florence.”
“No kidding.” I swore I could imagine Miles’ brow cocking at this very moment.
“But I’m not sure she feels the same way about me.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Well, I came to talk to her yesterday evening.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“She was quite happy to see me when she opened the door, so I felt pretty optimistic about asking her out.” Oh, God , I pressed my ear closer, palms flat against the cool wooden surface, plastered.
“But then…I don’t know, it also felt like I wasn’t exactly the one she hoped to see. Well, anyway, we’ve got a date today.”
“Hmm, a date,” Miles said, his voice slightly amused. Great! I leaned in, desperate to catch every word.
“Well, she agreed to a drink, but I was hoping to, you know, woo her.”
“Woo her?” Miles repeated, and I could totally envision his lips twisting into a smirk.
“Yeah. Any advice?”
“Um…” Miles sounded speechless. “Don’t you want to ask, I don’t know, her sister?”
“I did, but I think I need to talk to a guy.”
“Right,” Miles drawled. “So, what did you have in mind?”
“Jo said she likes to go to the observatory, so there’s that.
Or the cinema.” Truth be told, it was quite unusual to see this lack of confidence in Blake, because that man always wore it best. Hmm, interesting to realise he too, after all, was a human being.
“Drive-in? But what movie? What…what would you do to impress her?”
Miles hummed. “First. No to the observatory or movies.”
“No?” No?
“No. You want to talk to her on your date. To get to know each other better.”
“Right,” Blake sighed.
“Second. Personally, I wouldn’t try too hard to impress her.” What? Why not?
“Really?”
“Yeah. Just be yourself. And if she likes you for being you, then that’s great.
” Miles sighed, acutely aware I was right behind the door, listening to each of his words.
“If she agreed to a drink, then don’t make it look like a date.
Make it casual. Turn off your excessive charm and just make her feel comfortable around you. ”
“I thought maybe a picnic at the beach,” Blake offered.
“Hmm, that isn’t a bad idea. You know, sunset and all. Very romantic. Plus, if you get to swim together…you might get closer, but again, see how she feels.” Why was he telling him all these things? “Then, once you get cosy, maybe play some music in the background.”
“Music? Like, what sort of music?”
“Put on Nothing but Thieves. And when she says it’s her favourite band—”
“Wait, how do you know that she will?”
“Um…” Miles paused. “Well,” he drawled, uneasy, then awkwardly added, “Oh, come on, everyone loves them. Trust me.” Wow, Miles. Just wow!
“Okay. And then what?”
“Ask her to put on a song she likes, then both listen to it. Then, tell her something funny about yourself. Make her laugh. If she decides to share something with you too, just shut your mouth and listen. Carefully.”
Suddenly, my chest tightened, because it felt like reliving all those moments all over again, only those were the actual moments that happened with Miles.
It was us all over again. At the abandoned parking lot, at the beach, in the car…
those were the moments that brought us close, so why was he telling all this to another man?
It didn’t make any sense. Was I the only one letting myself believe it was more…
that I felt more than I should have allowed myself to?
“When she laughs, tell her she has a beautiful smile, but say it like you mean it, you know, add a personal touch.” Or maybe , I thought with a surge of hope, everything he just said to Blake was really meant for me?
“Hmm, what would you say?” Blake asked.
Miles groaned uncomfortably. Why did he?
“Okay, let’s imagine she is here right now—” God, I could barely breathe.
“—and she is standing in front of me, smiling.” My hands tightened around my shoulders, waiting for his next words.
“Hmm, I’d look at her, her mouth, and tell her that her smile feels like a beautiful sunny day.
That her chuckle…it starts with her eyes first, glowing, then reaches her lips.
That it makes me feel peaceful and good about everything else in the world because I am the lucky one she is smiling at.
And her smile is enough. And everything feels right. ”
Miles …A shallow breath escaped my lips, and I swallowed hard. The words felt like they were meant for me…the warmth in his voice… Could this really…?
“That’s what you’d actually say?” Blake asked.
“Of course not. I’d tell her she’s got great tits. But we both know that would never work.” Suddenly, I found myself smiling. God, that was exactly what he said to me. Breast-taking.
“Yeah,” Blake cleared his throat. “But she does. Really great tits.” Seriously? “That’s honestly very helpful, Miles,” Blake muttered with a chuckle. “Who knew you could be so romantic?”
“Um, just good with words, I guess,” he said, then added, “And remember, if at any point when you tell her all that about her smile, her gaze falls on your mouth, kiss her.”
“Kiss her?” Kiss her?!!! What? I nearly gasped.
“Yeah. Kiss her. But please, don’t ask me to show you how to do that as well.”
“Well, I think I can manage that,” Blake laughed. “Oh,” he abruptly paused. “Is this…yours?” Silence. What was going on?
Miles awkwardly cleared his throat. “Um…”
“Did you…?” Blake muttered with a groan, then quietly added, “Do you have a girl here, Miles?” Oh my God , my eyes momentarily widened. He found my underwear!
Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken questions.
“Is she here? Now?” I thought I heard Blake whisper, but the blood pounding in my ears made it hard to be sure.
“Blake,” Miles suddenly said, his voice tense and sharp. “It’s time for you to go.”
***
When I heard Blake finally leaving the bedroom, I let out a sigh of relief and the deafening drumming in my ears slowly started to ease.
Miles knocked on the door then opened it. “He is gone,” he said, finding me standing there, both stunned and disquieted. “Er, you okay?”
“Miles.” My gaze rose to meet his. “What was all that?”
“What do you mean?” He gently raised his eyebrow at me.
“All that!” I pointed at the bedroom.
“Well, I don’t know, Florence. If you are going to have a date, I think you should at least have a good one.”
“I’m not…that’s not a date!” I protested, my voice tight with frustration.
“No?” A frown tugged at the corners of Miles’ mouth. “It sounded like a date to me.”
“It’s not a date! Stop…stop calling it a date!”
“So—” Miles’ jaw tensed. “—you are not going out with Blake later tonight?”
“For a drink!”
“Well, you heard him, Florence.”
“Ugh,” I rasped, clasping the loose sheet around me. “I’m doing it because of Jo!”
“Hmm.” He let a quick sigh escape him.
“What?” I blurted.
A slow furrow creased Miles’ forehead then he said, “For someone who dislikes being told what to do, you’re surprisingly letting people do otherwise.”
“Oh,” I snorted, “this is completely different!”
“How so? Unless,” he paused, then muttered, “that’s actually what you want.”
“What? No, that’s not what I want!”
“Then what is?” Miles suddenly snapped, taking me slightly aback. “What do you want, Florence?”
At that moment, I felt like my body left my soul, or was it my soul that left my body?
Which was which, I wasn’t sure. My mind raced, thoughts scattering in every direction.
His words kept replaying in my head. What was it, for Christ’s sake?
What did I want? God , a breath hitched in my chest. I think I wanted…
you. “Oh, no!” I let the whisper escape my lips, quickly covering my mouth with my hand.
I wanted to run back into the bedroom, then as far away as possible, and pretend this conversation never happened.
But I…I was stuck…my feet felt glued to the floor.
Miles’s expression softened. “Florence,” he murmured, stepping closer. “What’s going on?”
“I…I…” The words caught in my throat and I glanced away.
“Hey?” He cradled my face so carefully and so gently, tilting my face up to meet his. His eyes were filled with a mixture of concern and…something else. Was it…hope? Could it be…that I was what he wanted too?
“Tell me,” he whispered.
The warmth of his hands slowly put me at ease, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. “I…” I breathed. Then I closed my eyes because it seemed like the only way I could escape that earnest, searching stare.
I heard him sigh, then felt him lightly press his forehead against mine. “You should go,” he said softly, “before someone comes here looking for you.”